The Directors: Najeeb Tarazi

There are not many directors who went to Harvard and there are even fewer who also hold two patents in the field of computer graphics. In fact, there’s only one: LA-based Lebanese-American Najeeb Tarazi.

After graduating from Harvard with a BA in physics, Najeeb’s film journey started at Pixar, where he worked as a technical director on fan favourites such as Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. After four years, he made his move into directing and has since had his work featured in Rolling Stone, Vice, Shots, and the front page of Reddit. He’s also received five Vimeo Staff Picks, including Vimeo’s 'Best of the Year' in 2022.

From retro animation to cinematic live-action and everything in-between, Najeeb has crafted unforgettable experiences across commercials, music videos, and films. He's collaborated with everyone from Uber, Microsoft and Snap to AC/DC and Tony Hawk. With his unique ability to blend storytelling and eye-popping VFX, Najeeb has become a sought-after artist and we can’t wait to see what he does next.

Name: Najeeb Tarazi

Location: Los Angeles

Repped by/in: Outsider in the UK/Amsterdam

Awards: Vimeo Best of the Year 2022, ADC Merit in Film Craft 2023

LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?

Najeeb> Overall, when agency and brand are trying to surprise their audience and try something new, I get excited about it. If they’re just trying to follow some trend (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the word 'transitions' in the past year), I have to find an angle that makes it fresh or I won’t be able to get into it.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Najeeb> I start with the feeling I’m trying to create in the audience. Once I’ve found the key words for that, the treatment writes itself. The biggest challenge is conveying visual ideas I have that I’ve never actually seen before. Getting those ideas across is a matter of finding great references and sometimes doing mock-ups.

LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?

Najeeb> Companies are usually run by people who at one point were fanatics about what they sell. A little research will reveal that story, and it’s usually fascinating to read. Tapping into that original idea behind the brand – or the ideology underlying their current wave of marketing – helps me get a feel for their message. I’ll read their Wikipedia page, I’ll watch their old ads, I’ll do plenty of research to get to know a brand so I can play to its strengths and find a way to believe in them myself. 

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Najeeb> It’s with client, and the reason is trust. They have to creatively trust me. For instance, I’m often involved in the edit, because I like to use unusual editing techniques. Making everyone feel comfortable with the unusual edit process is part of making the project get where it’s going. If I’m not involved with the edit, my goal is just to deliver the absolute best footage possible – e.g., footage that’s impossible for the editor to mess up – and in that case my most important relationship is with my DP.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Najeeb> Anything that makes people see the world in a fresh way is up my alley. That usually means slightly magical, humanist stuff.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Najeeb> Sometimes people might think that because my work has a technical component that my filmmaking process is fixated on technical aspects. But I rely on my intuition and feelings as much as any filmmaker. My techniques don’t work if the raw footage doesn’t have soul.

LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?

Najeeb> Not really, but I know that my commercial budgets go through cost consultants. It’s never been an issue. The bigger problem is getting the production to budget it properly – like, why do we have ten PAs and only four art department crew?? ;)

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Najeeb> On my first music video I had to 3D scan all our talent dancing on zero budget. We built an impromptu 3D scanning stage in my co-director’s living room. The end result is Another Love.

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Najeeb> I’m learning about this. Historically I didn’t protect the idea enough – if the client wanted to kill the good stuff, I would save it for my director’s cut and move on. More and more I try to make the case that the risks I want to take are helping the brand feel smarter and more interesting, even if we’re not spoon-feeding the audience as much as they tend to want to.

LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?

Najeeb> The pressing need for this cannot be overstated. As a first generation American from a colonised nation in the middle east, I’m always looking to work with a diverse crew. I push for a diverse crew on all my shoots and it often requires asking multiple times, which is frustrating. We need to keep educating people on the biases of our industry. We have to keep pushing very hard on multiple fronts to make a lasting difference. I’m definitely open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set.

LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time? 

Najeeb> I suppose I’m more open to remote workflows, and I’ve now done a couple tentpole projects where I wasn’t physically present at every location. But mostly I would say the pandemic got in the way of my learning even though I grew tremendously from 2020-2022. I’m trying to move beyond it professionally.

LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)? 

Najeeb> Because I consume content in so many different formats (vertical, wide, etc) myself, I tend to get excited about the unique possibilities each one presents. Especially with my camera tricks, it can be interesting to see how they’ll play when the dimensions change and what surprises they might offer. Lately I’ve been filming 4:3 pretty often to accommodate all the different needs.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?

Najeeb> I’m big into new technologies but I draw an enormous distinction between the ones that are true to my creative process and the ones I think are a massive distraction from art. I love anything that helps me capture real life in more interesting ways – for example, volumetric video, motion control, etc. On the other hand, GenAI to me is like food science in the 20th century – yes the scientists can create wonderful and strange synthetic foods (GenAI imagery) with their newfound understanding of chemistry, but what we actually need as a society is a movement toward real food (actual, beautiful footage of the real world). While we figure out what we can do, we never stop to ask whether we should.

LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?

Najeeb> Uber – Don’t Stop til Zero

ArrDee & Cat Burns – Home for My Heart

One More Try

Gaz Coombes – Walk the Walk